Hoist the Colors
by Masked Pan
Summary: Follow Luffy as he gains a brand new crewmate in his search for One Piece. She's cold, she's tough, she's cynical and just downright mean! She's also approximately only 4' 10". - Inspired by IronMaidenLeigh's 'All That Glitters'.
1. Barrel Full of Monkeys

**Hello everyone! I'm Masked Pan and this, this is my first attempt at a fanfiction. Well, I say first but I originally had this posted on Quizilla after becoming influenced by two of my favorite authors on there. I'll admit, this was written in 2nd Person but, apparently, they frown upon it here when you use that style so I had to convert it to 3rd Person. Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy!**

**_Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. Mac and any other OCs belong to_ me.****_  
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Deep out at sea, away from prying eyes, docked a pirate ship at an uncharted island. The ship was gaudy, pink and decorated with hearts. On deck, a finger slid across the railing, lifting to reveal a faint speck of dust. "Why is there dust on my ship?" The unintimidating features of the ship were more than made up for by the person who sailed it.

"A-A thousand pardons, Lady Alvida! I-I thought I'd cleaned every inch of this ship! I'll clean everything all over again! Please-!" Cried a man, shaking as he tried to save himself from the fate that awaited him.

"'Please' what…?"The woman—Lady Alvida—asked darkly, turning to look at the groveling man.

"Please, not the iron mace! I-I don't wanna die!" His pleas fell on deaf ears as a large and spikey club came down upon him, sending the man crumbling to the floor either dead or unconscious.

"Koby! WHO is the FAIREST throughout ALL the SEAS?" The woman demanded, iron mace in hand as she turned to a very wimpy looking kid.

"Heh-heh—Ahem! Why, you are Lady Alvida! No one compares to you!" The kid replied, sweating nervously.

"Correct! Which is why I will not tolerate anything that is dirty! The ship I sail must be as clean and beautiful as I am. Understand? Remember Koby, were it not for your vast knowledge of the sea, I would feed you to the sharks! So don't push your luck!"

"Y-yes… That's very kind of you." Koby choked out, visibly shaking under the intense gaze of his captain.

"Other than that, you're worthless! Now shine my shoes!" The woman growled, kicking her heel into Koby's head. The boy flinched harshly, "Y-yes Lady Alvida! Right away!" then set his rag to her shoes.

"I don't want to see even one speck of dust on this ship!" Alvida yelled to her all man crew.

"Y-yes, Ma'am!"

Now, Lady Alvida, for the way she acts is far from what one person might thing. She was an ugly, hideously obese woman with an attitude to match. She had small, beady eyes that were lost on her huge face and unruly black hair tucked underneath a small cowboy hat. The kerchief tied around her neck did nothing to hide her double chin and the sash around her round waist, if unraveled, would span the entire ship from bow to stern. Her captain's coat barely fit and the buttons on her on her pants looked like they would pop off any second. The only thing that seemed to remotely fit her was the checkered shirt she wore, but even that looked like it was reaching its limits.

"That's enough! You're pathetic!" The woman shouted, kicking Koby away. The boy only chuckled, hiding his obvious pain as he mumbled a 'sorry' to her.

"If you've got time to apologize, then you've got time to clean the bathroom!"

"Heh-heh… Right away, Lady Alvida.." Koby said, ignoring the blood dripping out of his nose. "Right away…" The boy whimpered again, failing to fight back the tears that streamed down his face as he walked off to perform his chores.

Later that day, far down the beach and away from the cruel woman he'd been forced to call 'captain', Koby began to clear his head and take a moment to steel his courage again. He hated where he was at in his life. He hated being forced to play cabin boy for this pirate woman and her crew of men. Ever since that fateful day, he had been walked all over and beaten like a dog. Heck, dogs probably had it better than him. He didn't care, he often found himself wishing to be a dog, or a bird, even a fish. Something that would let him get as far away from 'Iron Mace' Alvida as he possibly could. But, thankfully, he had spent his imprisoned years working on something that would hopefully bring about his escape. If only he had the nerve to do it…

Lost in his thoughts, Koby didn't notice the object that sat in front of him until he practically tripped over it. "WAAAH!" The pink-haired boy landed on the ground face first, groaning as he sat up and spat out a mouthful of sand. Readjusting his thick glasses, the boy turned to the culprit of his face plant. "What? A barrel?" A large barrel sat on its side in the sand, apparently having just washed up on shore. Standing up, Koby curiously approached the barrel, trying to pull it up on its end but found that he couldn't. "Wow, it's heavy! Huh, I wonder what's in it. Maybe wine or…" Suddenly, an idea hatched in his head. "M-Maybe if I bring it to Alvida's store house, I'll get some extra rations tonight!" It was a very longshot, but Koby did anything to try and at least get on his master's good side so she wouldn't punish him as severely.

Eagerly, the boy did everything his could to pick up the barrel but in the end, he came to terms with his weak legs and marshmallow arms and settled for rolling in down to the store house instead. As he got closer, his heart sank lower and lower as he played out every possible thing that could go wrong. What if no one notices? What if the people on duty took the credit? What if Alvida assumes he stole the barrel only to bring it back and look like he was doing something good! She would certainly kill him! The boy gulped, wondering if he should abandon all hope but before he could decide, the door to the store house slammed open and out stepped one of Alvida's crew members.

"What's that, Koby? Did a barrel of grog wash up on the beach?"

"Y-Yeah, and it's not empty! I wasn't sure what to do with it…" He quietly hoped that maybe, just maybe, he'll can just leave the barrel there and slink off, abandoning all hope to have any extra food. From inside the building, he could hear two other pirates chuckling to themselves.

"Well, I know what to do with it. Let's drink it all up!" A man with longer hair grinned mischievously.

"But if the Captain finds out, she'll have out heads!" The pirate who had opened the door for Koby said.

"She'll never find out!" A more plump man assured, grinning along with his buddy. Through their banter, the three men failed to notice the faint thumping of boots hitting the floor as their fourth and final person on duty approached from the very back.

"How about you guys stop goofing off and get back to work."

"Mac!" The three men and Koby immediately turned to look at the young woman dubbed Mac, standing there with a barrel almost bigger than her on shoulder. Placing the barrel down, she glared at the men through amber eyes. "We got a lot of stuff to take count of before we report back and it'd go so much faster if you three would quit playing around."

Mac was a bit of a colorful character, and hard to miss what with her short purple hair that fanned around her head, although there was a much longer chunk that braided right over her right temple and was reached mid-torso, and sharp auburn eyes. The most distinguishable characteristic on her was the jagged navy blue stripe that stretched across her right cheek and curved over the bridge of her nose with five black dots lined up underneath her left eye. She wore a loose fitting, three-quarter sleeved red and white striped shirt and tan cargo pants, held up with a black belt that had a large brass buckle. The brass matched the studs on the knuckles of her short leather gloves that stopped right at her wrists and the brass on the toes of her black knee-length lace up boots that her pants tucked into. But, probably the most bizarre thing she wore was the multitude of bandages that seemed to wrap over her entire body, covering both her arms entirely and most of her neck and continued on below her pants.

"Hey! How about you shut up?" The pirate with longer hair scowled. "We don't have to listen to some little brat!"

"Yeah! You're lucky the Captain even let you come with us! Any other girl, she would have been tossed to the sharks!" The three chuckled at the thought.

Glare deepening, Mac huffed. "If you idiots remember, Alvida put ME in charge of YOU."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, short-shit." The pirates just waved her off, ignoring her completely. Mac pursed her lips, grumbling something about blowing them up then retreating to the back. It was true that she was young and that she was short. Heck, how old were she? 16? 17? And she barely stood taller than two barrels stacked on top of each other but that didn't mean she was one to be brushed off. Grumbling again, Mac began counting Alvida's stock of fancy wine but kept an open ear to the people in the front.

"Forget her; we three can have all the grog to ourselves. And just Koby, Mac and the three of us will know about it." The plump pirate said. "And if Mac tattles, well, we can take her out and teach her a lesson." He laughed maliciously, knowing you were within hearing distance. It took all her will-power not to turn around and give him a taste of her right hook.

"I guess you're right…"

"And you won't say a word either, right Koby?" The fat man glowered, raising his hand in a threatening manner. Koby whimpered, waving his hands in front of him as the man forcefully took the barrel and stood it in front of him.

"Right! I won't say a word! Heh-heh-heh…" Mac felt sorry for the kid, hearing him pleading faintly for the pirate to not hit him. Deciding to join the party, she gave up on taking stock of the woman's wine and moved to stand out of the way of the men but closest to Koby. She couldn't help but notice the kid had shuffled a little closer to her, as if for protection. She couldn't blame him since she was the only one that didn't kick him around but she wasn't that fond of him either. His lack of spine annoyed her to no end.

"Alright! Let's see what's in this barrel!" The fat pirate readied his fist, pulling it back then swinging it down with tremendous force. What happened next… Well… She weren't quite sure what happened but it was interesting.

Just as the pirate's fist was about to make contact, the top of the barrel exploded on its own and out burst a… boy in a straw hat? "That was a great nap!" The boy yawned loudly. Everyone's reactions were different; Koby, being the closest, was knocked back on his butt. The three man were confused and shocked, shouting "What the hell!". Mac was equally confused, automatically getting down in a fighting stance.

"Hmm… Looks like I survived somehow." The boy said, surveying his barrel. "I got so dizzy, I thought I was gonna die!" He laughed heartily, failing to notice anyone's presence. It wasn't until Mac cleared her throat, staring at the boy. "Huh! Who're you guys?"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" The men yelled back angrily. "What were you doing in there!" Before the boy could answer, there was a swooshing of air and that was all the warning she got.

"BACK TO WORK YOU LAZY ASSES!" A giant mace came flying through the air and destroyed the entire building! Mac gave a shout of fright, the store house imploding and sending everybody and everything sprawling to the ground in a mess of shattered wood and broken supplies. She didn't even realize what happened until the captain herself, Alvida, was standing over the group in all her fat glory. "You lazy asses! Who's the fairest throughout all of the seas?"

"Lady Alvida! You are of course!" Was the automatic reply of the three crewmen. Mac just barely managed to sit up before she was being tugged up by the collar of her loose shirt. "And YOU! I put you in charge and you DARE to DEFY ME!"

"Lady Alvida, I don't—" She were immediately cut off as the woman got in her face, jerking her around like she was a rag doll. "Don't play dumb with me! I could hear you talking all the way from the ship! Now which one of you had such a 'great nap'?"

Finally, the lightbulb in one of the pirate's heads went off. "Uh… Captain! We have an intruder!

"Yeah!" The second on added. "That good for nothing Koby brought some strange guy here!"

"What! Could he be a bounty hunter after the price on my head? Koby! You traitorous little shit!" Alvida shook her around as if she were Koby herself.

"But the only bounty hunter bold enough to come here…"

"That's ridiculous! The Marines have him locked up."

"But if he's as clever as they say, he might've escaped!" The woman smirked, pausing in her throttling on Mac. "And they say that the infamous Roronoa Zolo is that clever!"

"So… What do we do?" The pirates asked, looking to their large captain.

"Simple. We find Koby, we find Roronoa Zolo. If I can get him to join my crew, I'll be unstoppable! If he refuses and I kill him, I'll be known as the most feared and most beautiful pirate in all land and sea." The woman looked down at Mac's limp form in her hand, her eyes swirling as she admired the bright flashing stars that surrounded her head. "Mac, you disgusting bitch!" At the call of her name, Mac snapped to attention, looking at Alvida as she hoisted her higher in the air. "Get your ass in gear and go find that little snake! AND DON'T SCREW UP!" With that, she flung her through the air and deep into the forest.

"I'm really getting tired of being thrown around today..." The young woman grumbled, landing hard on a branch and practically knocking the wind out of her.


	2. Koby Fights Back

After managing to get herself down from her landing perch, Mac traipsed all through the forest to find Koby and the supposed 'Roronoa Zolo'. She felt doubtful that the goofy kid in the straw hat was this feared bounty hunter but if he was, well, she honestly didn't care if he took out Alvida. It'd be a weight off her shoulders and she would be able to carry on with her own business but if he took out Koby too, then she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

Through the thickness of the forest, the sound of voices made it to Mac's ears. Following the noise, she emerged into a clearing and found the exact persons she was looking for. "Koby!" She called upon seeing the boy, "There you are!"

"AAHH—O-oh, it's Mac." Koby sighed in relief, wiping his hand across his forehead upon seeing that it was only his sort-of-friend. Clearing his throat, he was about to say something until he noticed the stare down that was going on between Mac and the straw hat boy. "Uhm, Mac, this is, um—"

"I know." Mac interrupted, sizing up the boy. He was a good head taller than herself, having to almost crane her neck all the way back to look at him. As she had noticed before, he sported a simple straw hat with a red band over short black hair. Over his thin body, he wore a red vest that buttoned up the front and jean shorts that stopped above his knees with only a pair of flip-flops to cover his feet. She also noticed a scar that stretched underneath his left eye.

Raising a purple brow, Mac shifted her weight to one foot and placed a hand on her hip, asking the boy with heavy skepticism in her voice. "Roronoa Zolo?"

"What?" The boy responded curiously, cocking his head to the side. "No, I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Who's Zolo?"

Mac just nodded her head, crossing her arms across her chest. "I figured you weren't. You look too scrawny to be him." The boy—Luffy—frowned at her statement.

Coughing, Koby decided to change the subject. "Mac, why are you here? Won't Lady—"

"Oh yeah, about that..." She looked down at Koby, a rare bit of concern glinting in her eyes. "She sent me to find you two, said that you brought a bounty hunter here for her head. Although I see now that that's not the case."

Koby visibly gulped, shaking as he looked up at Mac, looking as if he was going to cry. "A-Alvida sent you! Y-you won't go and t-tell her where we are, will you?"

Shaking her head, Mac just leaned back on a tree, "Nah, I don't see why I should. She's a horrible woman and I don't much care for what she does. Anyways, I suggest you guys find somewhere to hide if you can."

"Oh, thank goodness..." Koby sighed in relief again. Looking over his shoulder, he indicated to a pile of wood that sat on the shoreline. "Well, I was going to give Luffy this boat..."

"Boat!" Luffy turned to look at the pile of wood. "I thought this was a coffin!" Looking at the wood, Mac finally noticed had it looked vaguely like a dinghy. It was poorly built and seemed to only be held together with spit and sand. Honestly, she would have mistaken it for a coffin too.

"I built it myself." Koby said, staring sadly at his little boat. "I took me two years..."

"Two years! And you don't want it?" Luffy gasped.

"I really don't need it anymore. I built it to escape from this place but I don't have the courage to give it a try. I guess it's my fate to be a cabin boy for the rest of my life. But... I used to have a different dream."

"Why don't you just escape?" Luffy asked like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"N-No way!" Koby exclaimed, shaking his head with enough vigor to send bits of sweat flying all over the place. "Just thinking about what Alvida would do to me if she caught me makes my bladder weak! I just can't risk it! I'll never forget that fateful day... I just wanted to go fishing and I boarded a pirate ship by mistake..." Mac wondered how bad his vision must be if Koby didn't even notice that he was climbing on board with a bunch of angry looking pirates. "That was two years ago. In exchange for my life, I've been working as their cabin boy."

After Koby's story, Luffy stared at him with an unreadable expression before sighing, "You're kinda clumsy and stupid." Laughing loudly, Luffy sat back on the edge of the boat. Briefly, Mac wondered if it'd break underneath his weight. "And you're gutless too. You really are worthless!"

"You don't have to be so frank..." Koby whimpered. "But you're right... I don't have the guts to float around at sea in a barrel like you... Luffy, why did you go to sea anyway?"

A large grin broke out over the straw hat boy's face, one so big that it showed off his gums and took up the entire lower half of his face. "Because I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"

Both Mac and Koby had the same reaction, both of them staring at the boy with wide eyes and gaping mouths. For Koby, it was just the sheer fact that Luffy was going to put himself in so much danger. For Mac, well, it was a totally different reason.

"P-Pirate King!" Koby gasped, "But you'd have to make the whole world kneel to you! Wealth, fame, power—You'd have to achieve it all! Don't tell me you're after Gold Roger's lost treasure, One Piece! Do you want to die! Every pirate in the world is after that!"

"And so am I." Luffy declared.

"Even though the odds against you are so astronomical! It's impossible! You wanna be the Pirate King in the Golden Age of Piracy! It'll never happen! Not in a million years, not ever! Never, never, never, never—OW! W-wha—Mac! W-Why'd you hit me!"

"You were making my ears bleed." Was her only response, digging her pinkie into her ear to try and regain some sense of hearing.

"Okay... Guess I should be used to it by now..." Koby sniffled, sitting up as he rubbed at the swelling bump forming on his head.

Standing up, Luffy took the straw hat off his head, looking at it with determination set in his eyes. "I'm not afraid to die, Koby. I've set myself to become the Pirate King and if I die trying... Then at least I tried!"

'How admirable...' Mac thought to herself, standing next to Koby and watching this Monkey D. Luffy.

"And I believe I'll do it, too." He said, placing his hat back on his head. Then he added, "But maybe I'm just fooling myself." ... Way to ruin a moment.

"Maybe... I can be like that!" Koby stated quietly, "If I'm willing to risk my life trying..."

"Huh?" Luffy hummed, looking towards the crying pink-haired boy.

"Maybe it's possible! Luffy, do you think I can join the Marines!"

"The Marines?" Luffy parroted back.

"We'll end up being enemies but I want to join the Marines and fight bad guys! It's been my dream since I was a little kid! Luffy, do you think I can do it?"

"How would I know?" Luffy asked. Suddenly, Koby turned on the purple-haired girl behind him. "Then, what about you, Mac?" Mac just raised a brow, shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't care."

"Well, I'm gonna do it!" Koby shouted, his fists clenched in pure grit. "What have I got to lose! I don't wanna be a cabin boy my whole life! Better to risk my life trying to achieve my dream! I'll join the Marines and then I'll capture Alvida!"

"WHO are you trying to CAPTURE, runt!" As if out of thin air, Alvida appeared, her iron mace coming down and destroying Koby's boat into itty-bitty pieces.

"My boat!" The boy squealed, his two-years payoff reduced to nothing but toothpicks.

"You little shit!" Alvida growled, turning towards the three. "Did you really think you could escape from me! Who's that? Is that the bounty hunter you hired? He certainly isn't Roronoa Zolo."

"Zolo?" Luffy asked, remembering how Mac had called him the same thing earlier.

"I'll give you one chance to repent. WHO is the FAIREST throughout ALL of the SEAS? ANSWER ME!"

"Heh-heh-heh..." Koby chuckled nervously, "Lady Alvida, you-"

"Who's the tough looking old fatass?" Luffy asked, pointing towards Alvida. Everyone's jaws dropped, staring at Luffy with wide-eyes. Mac made a throaty noise and eyes soon turned to her as she burst out laughing, slapping her knee and almost choking on her own laughter. The crew let out shuddered breathes.

"How dare..." Oh, he dared alright.

"No way!" Yes way!

"Luffy! Take that back!" Koby cried, "Mac! Stop laughing! Throughout all of the seas, Lady Alvida is..." Koby got quiet all of a sudden, his voice growing faint as if he was figuring something out. "L-Lady Alvida is..." He turned to look at Luffy, the boy curiously watching to see what Koby would do next. He then turned towards Mac as the girl recovered from her laughing fit, wiping a tear from her eye then looking towards Koby as well. Within a quick moment, Koby turned and fully faced Alvida, shouting for the whole island to hear, "LADY ALVIDA IS THE UGLIEST OLD BITCH OF ALL!"

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Alvida screamed, raising her mace high above her head.

"Good for you, Koby!" Luffy laughed, grabbing Koby and pushing him back into Mac.

"L-Luffy!" Koby cried.

"It makes no difference to me," Alvida growled, swinging her mace down on Luffy's head, "YOU'RE BOTH GOING TO DIE!"

For a few moments, all was quiet as they waited for Luffy to crumble to the ground in a dead heap. Koby stood next to Mac, gasping and shaking in fear for his new friend. Mac was silent, her eyes scanning his head. There was something peculiar about this particular kid. Where the mace landed on his head, there was no blood. Nothing. It was like his skull was made of pure steel. She had growing suspicions about this guy.

Finally, after several agonizing seconds, a large grin broke out on Luffy's face. "That didn't hurt at all!" He taunted, "Cause I'm made of rubber!"

"Impossible!" Alvida gasped, "No one survives the iron mace!"

"You;ve gotta be kidding!" The crew screamed, dumbfounded. Mac smirked triumphantly to herself, relaxing and crossing her arms over her chest. Turns out she was right afterall.

"Gum Gum..."

"What the hell!" Alvida cried. Luffy pulled his fist back and as he did so, his entire arm stretched way back! It stretched far enough, Mac could almost feel his knuckles brushing her nose before his fist shot forward.

"PISTOL!" His fist landed right on target, slamming into Alvida's jaw and sending the woman flying back into her crew.

"H-his arm stretched like rubber..." The crew gasped, crowding around their fallen captain. "Captain! He beat Lady Alvida! He's not human!"

"Give Koby a boat!" Luffy demanded, glaring at the men. "He's gonna join the Marines!"

"Y-yes sir!" The men complied, most of them scattering while a few stayed behind to roll Alvida back to her ship.

"Luffy..." Koby let his tears spill freely, watching Luffy laugh to himself. Looking down, Mac gave a very light, playful smack to the back of Koby's head. "Marines don't cry, kid." Koby nodded, biting his lips in an attempt to stop them from quivering. It didn't help that his nose was running and the tears were still coming strong.

Not too much later, three of Alvida's crewmembers returned with a tiny sail dinghy. As Luffy and Koby were setting it up, the three men turned towards Mac.

"Hey, short-shit! Stop hanging around and get back to the ship."

"Yeah, Alvida's got something planned for you since you just let those two get away." They smirked, glaring at the young woman.

Mac didn't do anything, looking at the men as they cracked their knuckles then towards Koby and Luffy. The two were watching her, having noticed how she hung around after Alvida had been taken back to her ship.

If she stayed, she would surely end up taking place Koby's place as cabin boy. If that happened, who knows how long it would take before she could do anything. She was already treated poorly since she was the only female in an all man crew, not counting Alvida herself, and if she continued to sail with them then Alvida would probably end up killing her anyways. It'd be lucky if she was simply marooned, at least then she'd still have a chance.

On the other hand, if Koby and Luffy allowed her to sail with them, she could easily continue on her own. If anything, it'd be a nice relief to not have to cow-tow to Alvida every morning. It was pretty much a no brainer about what Mac was going to do.

"Tell Alvida that she can take it and shove it up her gargantuan ass." Leaving the stupefied men with their jaws on the floor, Mac approached Koby and Luffy's dinghy.

"Hey, you guys... You don't mind if I come with you, right?" A large small immediately broke out across Koby's face, the boy moving aside to let her aboard.

"Sure, yeah, you can come with us." Smiling back, Mac climbed on, taking a seat against the small mast.

"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy cheered, pushing the boat into the ocean before stretching his arms and using them to pull him on board, taking a seat in the very front on the tiny prow.

And with that, they left Alvida's island. With the wind in their sails, they took off to wherever adventure would take them next.


	3. The Demonic Beast

"You must have eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit." Koby breathed, staring a Luffy in awe. "Awesome! But Luffy, if you're going after One Piece then that means you'll have to enter the Grand Line."

"Yep!" Was Luffy's only reply, sitting comfortably on the prow of the boat and watching the sea ahead of him.

"They call it the Pirate's Graveyard!" Koby warned, leaning forward on the crate he sat on as if to emphasize his point.

"That's why I'm assembling a super crew. That guy that was imprisoned at the Marine Base... What's his name?" Luffy asked, finally turning to face the boy.

"Roronoa Zolo."

"If he's a good guy, I'll let him join my crew!" Luffy grinned brightly.

"Now you're talking crazy again!" Koby yelled, shocked by such a suggestion. "Never, never, never! That'll never happen! That guy's a demonic beast!"

"How do you know?" Luffy countered, turning back to watching the sea.

"Never!" Koby just went on, swiveling around to the dozing girl next to him, yelling, "Mac! Try and talk him out of it!"

Mac cracked one eye open, looking at the distraught boy for a moment before closing it again. "I think he should go for it."

"WHAT! But he's a monster! A **demonic beast**!" Koby reiterated, putting extra emphasis on 'demonic beast'. Mac just yawned, stretching her arms above her head and opened her eyes fully to look at Koby, replying nonchalantly,

"Then it's his fault if he gets himself and the whole Marine Base killed."

Ignoring Koby's sputtering, Luffy placed his hand to his chin, looking thoughtful for a moment. "A demonic beast, huh?"

"His real name is Roronoa Zolo." Koby said, calming down enough to speak without shouting. "But everyone calls him Pirate Hunter Zolo."

Mac then got a mischievous smirk on her face, getting up on her knees and leaning close to Koby's ear. "You know, he's like a bloodthirsty hound." She whispered darkly, feeling encouraged when the boy got a deer-in-the-headlights look. "He roams the seas, hunting men for the bounties on their heads! He'll even ruthlessly cut down anyone in his head, even kids with pink hair and huge glasses." Koby began to shake, color draining from his face. Snickering behind her hand, Mac went on, "They even say... He's a demon in human form!" Koby squeaked in fright, scrambling to push himself away from Mac.

Koby turned to Luffy, pleading "She's right, Luffy! Don't go after him! He's a pirate hunter and pirate hunters don't mix well with pirates!"

Luffy hummed, in thought, facing the two fully. "Well, I haven't decided whether I'll ask him to join my crew or not. If he's a good guy then I'll—"

"He's in prison because he's NOT a good guy!" Koby intervened, shouting to try and get it through the straw hat's head. Sighing, Mac leaned against the mast again, crossing her arms behind her head and deciding to doze off again. Maybe she'll be able to get a little sleep in without Koby screaming in her ear about everything. Doubtful though...

Despite Mac's judgment, she had fallen into a sound sleep, dreaming about dancing rainbow eels and all the apples she could eat when she eventually woke up slightly to the feeling of Koby lightly shaking her shoulder. "Mac, wake up! We've made it."

The girl just batted him away, mumbling something about tuba playing whales and went back to napping. A couple seconds later, just as she was about to fall back asleep, there was a resounding _smack!_ and her head jerked to the side, suddenly wide awake. Koby looked guilty, nervously rubbing his hand and shying away when she slowly turned to look at him, eyes narrowed into an enraged glare. "S-sorry!" He instantly apologized, jumping back, "You wouldn't wake up so... I mean, I had to do something... Don't hurt me!"

Mac curled her lip into a tight sneer, slowly standing and glaring the boy down. He cowered, shielding his head with his hands. When no hit came, he looked to see her rubbing her sore cheek and stalking past him, joining Luffy up on the dock. Koby sighed in relief, swiping a hand over his forehead before following them up the dock and onto land. He made sure to stand on the other side of Luffy in case Mac decided to retaliate.

"We're finally here!" Luffy cheered, thrusting a fist into the air, "We made it to the Marine Base town! Koby, you're amazing!"

"Huh?" Koby asked.

"You actually got us to our destination!" Luffy explained, turning to smile at the boy.

"Of course I did! That's the minimum requirement for people who sail the seas." Koby said, "Luffy, if you keep randomly floating round, you'll never become a pirate. You should find a navigator for your crew."

"Yeah!" Luffy said, clearing not listening, "That's what I'll do! Now let's eat!" He then proceeded to drag Mac and Koby all over the town in search of a place to eat. During that time, Mac realized that Marine Base wasn't that huge of a city. It barely even passed for a small town. All there was really was a couple of shops and some houses. The most prominent thing was the large base that the place was named for, standing smack dab in the middle of it all, painted with tiger shark stripes and had the word 'Marine' printed on the top of it. Also noticeable was the tall concrete wall that surrounded its entire perimeter.

"Let's eat here!" Luffy decided, walking hastily into a restaurant named Food Foo. After ordering their food and having a nice meal, Luffy began the inevitable conversation. "Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways." He said, patting his stuffed belly. "I hope you join the Marines and become a great sailor, Koby!."

"T-thank you, Luffy!" Koby said, wiping away tears that began to form. "And I hope you become a great pirate! Even if that means we'll be enemies."

Mac decided at that point to approach their table after heckling some apples out of the restaurant owner, biting into a green one and balancing three more in her left hand. "Hey," She said, grabbing their attention, "Wasn't this the place that Roronoa Zolo was supposed to be held?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, every single person in the eatery screamed and threw themselves against the wall opposite of their table, trembling and staring and their group in terror. Koby sweatdropped.

"Maybe we shouldn't say that name out loud around here..." He whispered to them as people slowly settled themselves back down to eat. Changing the subject, Koby commented, "I saw a poster that said Captain Morgan is at this base."

This time, people flipped their tables over in an attempt to get away from the group as fast as possible. "Wow!" Luffy exclaimed at their behavior, Mac and Koby watching them in confusion. Deciding that was a sign they should leave, they shelled most of what little money they had and walked out, Mac finishing her apples and tossing the cores into a potted plant. Down the road, Luffy broke out into a fit of laughter.

"What a great restaurant!" He snickered, " I wanna go back there again!"

"Everyone is so jumpy!" Koby said, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this... I mean, I can understand why they get nervous when they hear Roronoa Zolo's name. He might escape at any moment! But why did they get nervous hearing the Captain's name?"

_'Because Marines are greedy lunkheads who don't care about anyone but themselves.'_ Mac thought bitterly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her tan cargo pants and walking quietly next to Luffy.

"Who knows?" Said boy voiced, walking casually with his own hands in his pockets. "Maybe they just got carried away."

"Why would that happen!" Koby yelled in shock, glaring at Luffy. "I'm trying to think seriously here..." Koby stopped himself when he found that they walked right to the Marine Base, standing in front of the gates that remained as the only entrance into the massive building. "It looks so big up close!" He breathed, taking in the massive building.

"Go on in, Koby!" Luffy said encouragingly. Sadly, Koby found that he couldn't find his spine as he reverted back to stuttering and nervously fiddling with his hands.

"B-but I haven't mentally prepared myself yet and those people got really scared when they heard the Captain's name—Luffy! What're you doing!"

Mac turned from watching a shop that was selling tiny frogs in keychains to see that Luffy was hanging off the wall of the Marine Base. She raised a brow, approaching him as Koby made an attempt to pull him off.

"I wonder if I can see the Demonic Beast from here." He wondered, holding his hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun.

"I doubt you'll find him just looking over the fence." Mac voiced, watching the boy drop from the wall. "I bet they've got him locked in chains somewhere underneath the prison."

"Oh yeah?" Luffy said, taking off down the side of the wall, "Well there's somebody over there! Maybe it's Zolo!"

"What!" Koby squeaked, him and Mac following Luffy. The boy had already jumped up on the wall, Koby trying to do the same only to fail miserably and end up barely tall enough to grasp the ledge. Mac sighed in exasperation, folding her hands together and offering the kid a lift. Koby smiled sheepishly, gulping when he place a foot on her fingers because he was afraid she was going to try and launch him over the fence but smiled thankfully when she actually lifted him high enough for him to grab hold and peek over. She soon followed suit, scaling the wall with ease next to Luffy and folding her arms on the top of it.

"There he is!" Luffy pointed out across the courtyard. Almost as soon as Koby laid his eyes upon the figure, he threw himself from the wall onto the ground, clearly shaking.

"... I'm not helping you back up." Mac deadpanned.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked curiously.

"A b-black bandana and a haramaki!" He gasped frightfully. "It's really him! That's Roronoa Zolo! He looks so... Menacing!"

Turning back to look over the wall, Mac observed the man in the fenced of courtyard. "So that's him!" Luffy said next to her.

The man, Roronoa Zolo, slouched against the ropes that held him tied to a cross, his waist tied tightly to a large vertical beam and his arms tied at the elbows over a smaller, horizontal beam. His head was down so she couldn't see his face but she could catch the glint of three earrings in his left ear. Like Koby had pointed out, he had a black bandana tied around his head and a green stomach sash around his torso. The tight white shirt he wore showed visible dirt and blood stains and his black pants seemed a little faded. The only thing that seemed the showed little damage was the black boots he wore that his pants were tucked into.

"Hmm..." Luffy hummed, "I could just untie the ropes and set him free..."

Koby, once again, didn't like his idea. "That's suicide!" He cried, having found a milk crate to stand on to give him a boost onto the wall. "If you let him loose, he'll kill us and destroy the town!"

"Hey kid!" All three swiveled around to face the source of the new voice, Koby shrieking loudly when he realized Zolo was talking to them. "Come over here... And untie me... I've been here for nine days and I can't take it anymore..." He was clearly having trouble just talking by the way he had to stop between every now and again to take a breath of air.

"Hey! He's smiling!" Luffy pointed out.

"H-he's talking to us!" Koby squeaked shrilly, trying to make himself seem as small as possible.

"I'll make it worth your while." Zolo went on. "I'll capture someone with a big price on their head and give all of the bounty to you. You can trust me. I'm a man of my word." Well that sold it.

"D-Don't do it Luffy!" Koby cried, trying hard to convince Luffy. "As soon as you untie him, he'll kill us and get away! I know it!"

"He won't kill us." Luffy said confidently, "He couldn't. I wouldn't let him!"

"What!" They heard Zolo say suddenly. Curiously, both Luffy and Koby turned to see what he gasped about and frankly, Koby almost had a seizure. "MAC! What do you think you're DOING!"

Mac stood directly in front of Zolo, arms crossed as she regarded him with a scrutinizing gaze. The man seemed a little unnerved to find himself face to face with someone, especially when she was watching him like a vulture. "MAC! Come back!" Koby called again, afraid for the young woman.

"Shut up, Koby!" Was her cold reply, not even turning to look at his shocked face. Instead, she kept her stare steady with Zolo's who met hers head on. "What do you want? Are you going to untie me or stand there like a dunce all day?"

"That depends." She replied, putting a gloved hand on her hip, "How much of that bounty were you talking about?" At this, Zolo gave her a sinister looking smirk.

"All of it. I just want to be out of this so hurry up before they come to give me my daily beating." Good enough for Mac!

"HE'S LYING! MAC! DON'T LET HIM GO! COME BACK BEFORE HE KILLS YOU!" Koby screamed, pulling out all attempts to prevent her from untying the pirate hunter.

His pleas were, of course, ignored by the older female as she set to work to trying to untie the knots on his arms. She didn't notice the sound of wood hitting the wall, nor the sound of Koby and Luffy's confused voices until Zolo picked his head up to look at something behind her. "What do you want?" He asked again. Turning around, Mac noticed a tiny little girl with black hair in pigtails and a striped dress walking over. She clutched something wrapped in a cloth in her tiny hands.

"Luffy! Do something! She'll be killed!" Mac heard Koby's panicked voice.

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Luffy replied. "Besides, Mac's down there. She won't let anything happen to her." Koby didn't agree with Luffy, having had known the icy girl longer. He knew Mac to be very selfish. He just hoped that Luffy was right this time, for the sake of the little girl.

"Get lost! Do you wanna get killed?" Zolo growled, glaring harshly at the young child. The girl ignored it completely, instead unwrapping the cloth in her hand to reveal two large rice balls.

"I made these for you!" She said sweetly, smiling kindly as she held out the rice balls to Zolo. "I thought you might need some food! It's the first time I've ever made rice balls. I hope you like them!"

Instead of accepting the food like she expected, Zolo began yelling at her. "I'm not hungry! Now beat it and take that stuff with you!"

"B-but..." The girl looked like she was about to cry. That hit small soft spot for poor Mac though, and she turned to a light smack to his stomach, choosing to stick up for the child.

"Don't be an ass. She said she made them for you, jerkbag."

"I said I don't want it!" Zolo yelled angrily. "Now get out of here or I'll stomp you to death!" Before Mac could do anything about Zolo's mouth, which would have involved jamming her first down his throat, the chain link gates swung open and in walked... Well, more like flaunted... Flaunted a man in some gaudy getup followed by two Marines.

"Roronoa Zolo!" The man called and instantly, Mac didn't like him. His voice screamed Daddy's Little Girl and it grated harshly against her ears. "You shouldn't pick on little girls. I'll tell my father on you!" Yep, she was right. Opening her mouth and about to use the guy as a verbal punching bag, she never had a chance when she felt a strong pull at the back of her shirt and she found herself flying over the wall and landing hard of the ground. Sitting up, she scowled at Luffy as the boy grinned innocently at her before turning around to watch the scene unfold. Huffing, Mac stood up and joined the two boys on the wall.

"Jeez." She head Zolo growl, "Well if it isn't the dumbass son living off daddy's wealth." So that's who this guy was.

This guy had to be the ugliest guy she's ever seen with hair that resembled a mushroom and a huge butt chin. He wore a double-breasted suit with gaudy leopard print on the popped collar, cuffs and even his shoes. All of his father's wealth and this guy couldn't afford a decent wardrobe and hairstylist?

"Did you just call me a dumbass?" Mushroom-Domed-Idiot, as Mac had affectionately dubbed him, scowled. "A man in your position should guard his tongue or lose it!" He then noticed the little girl standing there with the rice balls in her hands. "Little girl, did you bring those rice balls for me? How thoughtful."

"Hey! Give it back!" She protested as he snatched one and took a large bite. His face then twisted into a look like he had bit into lemon, promptly spitting out the chewed chunk and proclaiming,

"Disgusting! It's sweet! There's sugar on it! Rice balls are seasoned with salt! Not sugar!"

"B-but I like sweet, so I figured sugar would be better!" She explained. The guy didn't care; he slapped the second rice ball out of her hand and proceeded to stamp them into the ground.

"These are entirely inedible!"

"Stop! Please! You're ruining them!" The girl cried, falling to her knees and trying to stop him.

"How evil..." Koby gasped, "That little girl worked hard to make those rice balls." Luffy watched with an unreadable expression, leaving Mac the only one silently gritting her teeth at the sight. Her right hand twitched violently the longer she watched.

"Don't worry!" Butt-Chinned-Freak laughed maliciously, grinding his heel into the destroyed rice balls.

"Oh no..." The girl bit her lip, trying hard to stop herself from crying. Tears were rapidly forming in her eyes. "Why! I worked really hard on those!"

"Oh, stop that crying!" The man groaned, "This is why I hate kids!" He turned to a sign they had failed to notice before, pointing at the writing on it. "It's your own fault! Can't you read this sign? It says 'Anyone aiding this prisoner shall be found guilty of the crimes they have committed.' Signed Captain Morgan."

"I'm sure you're heard how scary my father can be!" The guy said, grabbing the girl by her chin and forcing her to look up at him. Mac silently hoped that she could bite his hand. "If you were and adult, you would be put to death!" Roughly letting go of the girl, the man gestured to one of the Marines that stood by. "You there! Throw this brat over the fence!"

"B-but..." The Marine stuttered, appalled by such a command. Rice ball-Murdering-Disco-Wannabe reared around, grabbing the Marine by the front of his uniform and pulling him close. "I'm ordering you to throw that little brat over the fence! Are you going to disobey a direct order! I'll tell daddy on you!"

"Y-yes sir! Right away!" The Marine hesitated, going over to the little girl and scooping her up. He muttered a small apology before flinging her as gently as he could over the fence. Thankfully, Luffy was there and he easily caught her, falling to the ground and taking the full impact. After the two made sure she was alright, they joined Mac back on the fence.

"My, aren't you a stubborn one!" Smug-Gaudy-Face sniggered.

"That's right, I'm gonna last out the entire month!" Zolo replied confidently, "You just keep your end of the bargain!" Daddy's Little Girl just laughed flippantly, strutting back out the gate.

"I wouldn't dream of breaking my word." He said, sarcasm evident in his words. "As long as you can survive for a month, then you're free to go! I'm sure I'll see you then!" Zolo watched the man until the gates shut and blocked his view, eyes narrowed dangerously. He soon realized that he still wasn't alone and he looked ahead of him to see the kid in the straw hat, Luffy, standing in front of him. "You still here? Better not let Helmeppo's dad catch you."

"Look," Luffy spoke up, "I'm looking for strong people to join my pirate crew."

"Pirate crew? You think I'd lower myself to that level? Hell no!" Zolo scoffed.

"But becoming a pirate's my dream! What's wrong with it!" Luffy replied defensively.

"You think if you untie me, I'm gonna join your pirate crew?"

"I haven't decided if I'll ask you yet. You've got a pretty bad reputation, you know."

"Bad reputation, huh?" Zolo chuckled, "Anyway, I don't go for that kind of deal. I've got my own plans for the future. I don't need your help. I can get out of here on my own."

_'That's not how you acted before.'_ Mac thought, rolling her eyes and swinging her legs from her seat on the wall.

"All I have to do is last for a month here, then I'm a free man." Zolo went on, smirking. "Captain Morgan's dumbass son promised me. All I've got to do is survive here for one month. Then I'll be free to pursue my dreams!" It kind of made Mac sigh sadly for the man, just for simply the way he sounded so sure that he was going to get out alive.

"Hmm… I see." Luffy replied, smiling and unconvinced. "I don't think I could last one week without food."

"You and me are different. I've got more will power. So go find a crew somewhere else." Shrugging, Luffy turned and began walking back to join his two friends. Before he even took a step, Zolo stopped him. "Hey, wait a minute." He called, Luffy turning back curiously. "Pick that up for me." Zolo said, looking down at the unrecognizable rice ball.

"You're gonna eat this!" Luffy asked, scooping it up and trying to hold it together. "It's more of a dirt ball than a rice ball now. I know you're hungry but this—"

"Shut up!" Zolo demanded, opening his mouth as wide as he could. "Just shut up and feed it to me! And don't miss one grain of rice!" Complying, though a little grossed out, and shoved it all into Zolo's mouth. Though she commended him, Mac found it more amusing to watch him tear up as he tried to choke it down, coughing and hacking the entire time.

"I told you it was mostly dirt." Luffy reprimanded, "Do you wanna kill yourself?" Zolo ignored him, twitching as he choked down the last few chunks. "Tell the kid," He coughed, Luffy leaning closer to hear what he was saying. "Tell her it was delicious and that I ate it all." Luffy didn't reply, laughing happily and walked back, he and Mac disappearing over the fence.


	4. Captain AxeHand Morgan

"Really!" Rika, the little girl from before, exclaimed happily, folding her fists to her chest and looking at Luffy with big doe eyes.

"Yeah!" Luffy laughed, crossing his legs underneath him. "He ate it all up!"

"I'm so glad!" She beamed, sitting down of the stone steps that Luffy also inhabited. After Luffy had joined Mac, she informed him about how Koby took Rika home. Apparently, the little girl's mother owned a tavern in the town and Koby wanted to make sure she was alright after having to deal with that Helmeppo goon and being tossed over the wall. When the two were plodding along looking for the tavern in question, seeing as how Mac didn't even bother asking where it was, Mac had taken that time to reflect on her own thoughts.

Namely, the thought of what she was going to do after this big waste of time. Her own agenda was put on hold because she had chosen to go with Luffy and Koby, hoping that she could use them as a free ride to get to where she needed to go next. Unfortunately, she had chosen to keep following them around because she made a mental bet with herself that Koby would cower out of joining the Marines and now that there was this whole thing going on with that pirate hunter, she had wanted to stick around a little longer, if only to fuel her hatred for the Marines some more. At least, that's what she wanted to believe.

If she really wanted, she could ditch Luffy and Koby now and find a trade ship that would hire her but there was something in her that was stopping from just running off. Despite her temperamental issues and bitter attitude towards everything, she genuinely wanted to see Koby follow through with his dreams and enlist. It was that annoyingly nice part of her that wanted to see Koby actually grow a spine. After that, then she would ditch the rubber straw hat and start making her own tracks.

"Hey, there they are!" Mac had to grind to a halt, just barely missing ramming herself headlong into the straw hat's back. She sent him a light glare, annoyed that he stopped so suddenly before looking off to where he pointed down the side of an alley and lo and behold, Rika sat on a some stone steps while Koby entertained her from his spot on a barrel.

And that's where Mac found herself now, leaning against the building opposite of the porch Luffy and Rika sat on, listening silently as Luffy told them what happened when he went over the wall. Koby listened for a while, looking as though he were lost in thought for a moment. Looking up at Rika and Luffy from his spot on a barrel, he asked, "Could that guy really be as bad as everyone says?"

"He's not a bad guy!" Rika protested vehemently. "Everybody in town is afraid of him but he hasn't done anything wrong! He got thrown into prison because of me." She said, looking down with deep sadness in her eyes. "Captain Morgan's son had a bunch of mean dogs that attacked me! But then Zolo saved me! Besides, his dogs were running lose and scaring everyone in town."

"So Zolo's in prison because he hurt that guy's dog to save you?" Luffy surmised.

"Yes!" Rika nodded in confirmation.

"I wouldn't put it past them." Mac spoke up, looking up at the three. "Zolo's only a bounty hunter and was known for bringing in bounties that others had failed in doing. The Marines wouldn't just lock up someone valuable like that."

"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad ones!" Rika scowled heatedly, crossing her arms and resting them on her knees that she pulled to her chest. "They put people to death for no reason at all! Everyone's afraid of them!"

Mac suddenly turned her head, looking towards the part of the alley that exited into the main road, brows furrowed. Her actions didn't go unnoticed, Koby looking at her curiously as to what suddenly piqued the interest of the girl. "Mac, what's the matter?" She didn't even answer, for the noise she heard soon made itself apparent to the rest.

"Ha ha ha!" Came an irritatingly familiar laugh, Luffy and gang moving to the entrance of the alley. Helmeppo strutted like a goose with a wooden spoon up its butt followed by two Marines and laughing smugly to the citizens as they were on their knees with their heads in the dirt. "Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zolo? We're going to hold a public execution for him in three days!" He boasted, "We'll make an example of him! I can hardly wait!"

"Three days...?" Mac spoke softly, remembering what Helmeppo had said in the courtyard. About how he would let Zolo free if he survived a month but he was bragging about an execution. Didn't this goon make a promise! Anger bubbled up in Mac's stomach, the emotion evident by the way she was clenching her teeth tightly. In her rapidly boiling rage, she noticed Luffy directly approaching the scumbucket Helmeppo.

"But didn't you make a promise to him!" The boy frowned, eyebrows furrowing and his fists clenching; all signs that the boy was working on his own hurricane of fury.

"What? Where did you hear about that?" Helmeppo snorted, his cheeks puffing out with sniggers and laughs. "That promise was a joke! He's just a stupid animal for believing it!" And that was when Luffy did something that shocked the whole town.

In the midst of Helmeppo's laughing, Luffy sprang forward and buried his fist in the smug little bastard's face. Crying in agony, Helmeppo flew to the ground, Luffy about to follow him when Koby ran up, screaming "Luffy! Stop! CALM DOWN!" and hooked his arms around Luffy's shoulders in order to incapacitate him.

"That guy is scum!" Luffy spat, jaw clenched tightly as he fought against Koby.

"You want to make an enemy of the Marines, do you!" Helmeppo yelled, sitting up and holding his nose, blood gushing out like a waterfall.

"Guys, I've made my decision! I'm gonna ask Zolo to join my crew!"

The people of the town were beside themselves, gasping at the gall Luffy had to punch Helmeppo. "H-He really did it! He punched the Captain's son! Captain Morgan's gonna kill him!"

"Luffy, stop! Are you trying to pick a fight with all of the Marines!" Koby cried, fighting to keep the angered rubber boy down.

"Scum is sum, no matter who its father is!" Luffy spat, sending the crying man on the ground a glare that could melt iron.

"Y-you hit me!" Helmeppo gasped, rubbing his face. "No one has ever hit me! Not even father!"

"That explains a lot…" Mac snorted, crossing her arms and watching as the Marines pulled Helmeppo's arms over their shoulders and stood him up, apparently far too injured to do anything by himself.

"I'm Captain Morgan's beloved son! I'm telling father on you!" The crowd gasped, all of them visibly tensing following his threat.

"Don't run crying to daddy! Face me like a man!" Luffy went on, ignoring Koby's pleas for him to stop.

"You're gonna die begging for mercy! You're a walking corpse!" Helmeppo shouted, the Marines carrying him off and skedaddling on back to the base. Walking up to Luffy, Mac picked up his hat, ignoring the tingling feeling of familiarity that coursed through her palms.

"He's not worth hitting." Luffy huffed, Koby letting him go.

"Why'd you do it in the first place then?" Mac asked, pressing his straw hat into his chest until he took it and flopped it back on his head. Rika flounced up, going straight to Luffy with a wide smile of her face.

"You were great!" She praised, wide eyes sparkling. "I feel so much better now!"

"Then I wish I had hit him a few more time for you!" Luffy smiled, crossing his arms proudly over his chest and looking down at her.

"Rika!" Someone shouted, everyone turning to see an older woman in a dress that looked very similar to the little girl. It was a no brainer that this woman was Rika's mother. "Get over here!" She demanded, her faced etched in worry. Rika instantly ran up to her, greeting her mother with a tight hug around her waist. The woman embraced her daughter then broke it, placing her hand on the little girl's shoulder and guiding her towards the door behind her. "You shouldn't be talking to those people!" The woman said hastily. "If they think you're his friend, they'll kill you, too!"

"But mom, he's a good man! And Zolo, he's a good—"

"What are you saying! You didn't go to the execution ground, did you!"

"Um… Well… No…"

"Hurry up, let's get inside." The girl looked back of her shoulder, frowning sadly. Luffy waved happily at her, smiling widely in assurance before the door closed with a slam.

"It's hard being a kid when parents won't listen." Mac commented, resting her hands on her hips. Koby began to spaz right next to her. "How are you so calm, Mac! They won't let you get away with this!" He shouted, tugging his hair. "And Captain Morgan has all of the Marines behind him!"

"Correction: Luffy won't get away with this. I don't plan on getting caught up in whatever that walking fungus has in mind." Mac said, leaning her weight on one foot.

"Yeah, whatever. I need to talk to Zolo." Luffy said, walking off towards the base. Mac followed after him, falling in step next to him with Koby screaming his head off behind them.

"So you think Zolo will actually join you?" She asked, walking right beside him on the way to the base,

"Yep!" Luffy replied confidently, not a single hint of doubt in his voice. She glanced up at him briefly, watching his face set with determination.

"And what about when the Marines kill you?" She asked, striding along with her hands in her pockets.

"They won't kill me. I can take them all on with one fist tied behind my back!"

"Hm…" Mac hummed for a moment. "You know, overconfidence will get you killed. Why not just give up and go find someone more willing to join your crew?" She asked, standing and watching as Luffy climbed up the wall that surrounded the Marine base. With one leg over the side, Luffy stopped and looked back down at the purple haired girl, flashing her a wide grin that spoke multiple tones.

"Because if I gave up before I've even started, then what good am I if I've even bothered starting at all?" Then he swung his other leg over the wall and dropped from view, leaving Mac alone with her thoughts.

Interesting… Interesting that someone as seemingly simple-minded as Luffy could come up with that. For a while, Mac just thought he was an overconfident idiot with an ego bigger than the Grand Line and then to turn around and say something like that was almost enough to make her go philosophical on herself. Chewing on the inside of her lip, she leaned against the wall and sat down, resting her elbows on her bent knees. Shame she wouldn't get any more surprises like that when they go their separate ways.

Not long after Luffy had gone to visit Zolo, Koby came running over, face beet red though she didn't know if it was because he was angry and flustered or because he was out of shape and running.

"Weren't you guys listening to me?" He yelled, huffing to catch his breathe. "I talked to myself for ten minutes until I realized you guys left! Where did Luffy go?"

"No, we weren't. Good for you. And, he went in to have tea with Zolo." She said, tapping her knuckles against the wall she leaned on and lazily looking up at Koby. The boy's face relaxed but a frown remained evident on his lips, his eyes trailing up to look at the air above the wall. Suddenly, he walked up to the wall, jumping up and reaching for the ledge, managing to pull himself up but clearly having trouble.

"What are you doing? I thought you didn't want to get in trouble with the Marines." Mac said, noticing how Koby managed to get one leg hooked on the wall while the other flailed around miserably over her head.

"I don't care about that now. Zolo doesn't deserve to be killed!" He grunted, trying hard to get himself up and over. Sighing, Mac stood up, stopping his flailing leg by grabbing the bottom of his shoe with her hand. "Hey! What are—" He suddenly found himself being tossed up, sailing through the air and falling hard on the ground on the other side with a loud thud. Rolling over, the boy moaned, hearing a softer thud just above his head. Sitting up, he looked to see that Mac had followed, brushing off her gloved hands.

"Thanks..." Koby grunted, standing up and dusting his clothes off.

"Don't mention it." She replied, halfway to the man himself. Koby followed quickly, brushing off his clothes and adjusting his glasses.

"What do you want?" Was Zolo's greeting, tilting his head up to look at the two in front of him. When his eyes went to Mac, he concluded. "Oh, it's you guys with that kid in the straw hat. That guy must have a death wish or something. He went running right into the base."

"What!" Koby shouted, "Luffy went into the fortress! Why is he so reckless!" Mac watch as Koby walked forward and began working on the binds around his arms.

"Hey! Now you're being reckless! If they catch you freeing me, they'll kill you!"

"They imprisoned you unfairly!" Koby struggled with the knots, not looking at Zolo. "I can't stand to see Marines acting likes this! I'm going to become a Marine! Just like Luffy's going to be the Pirate King!"

It was Zolo's turn to freak out. "What! The Pirate King! Does he know what that means!"

Koby laughed, pausing to look at the man finally. "I was shocked when he first told me, too. But he'll succeed or die trying! That just how he is."

Then, in that moment, everything took a turn for the worse. There was the echo of a gunshot and then Koby went flying back, blood gushing from a fresh wound to his shoulder. Mac was fast to act, dashing and catching the boy before he hit the ground. Her eyes scanned him, going straight to his shoulder where the bullet hit. Zolo felt helpless, unable to do anything for the poor kid. In her arms, Koby was crying and writhing in pain.

"I've been shot!" He screamed, looking at the blood on his hand in horror. "Bleeding! I'm bleeding! I'm gonna dieee!"

"Shut up and hold still!" Mac demanded, silencing him with a slap to his face. He instantly calmed, still shaking hard as he tried to quell a panic attack and make his wound worse. Reaching down, Mac unsnapped the button on the pocket of her cargo pants, pulling out a handy-dandy roll of bandages she kept special for herself. The boy gasped for air, crying in pain when she swiftly wrapped him up, a half-assed job but one that would have to hold until they got out of there.

"Are you alright…..?" Zolo asked, watching Mac tie off the bandage and putting away the roll.

"Koby, we've got to leave. Now. I've got a feeling that those Marines are going to be up our asses soon." She said, standing up and looking over her shoulder at the base.

"No!" The boy instantly protested, struggling to sit up. "We've… Got to free Zolo as soon as possible!" He gasped, using his good arm to support himself.

"There is no need to worry about me. As long as I can stand this for a month, they'll set me free! Hurry and lea—"

"They will not set you free!" Koby yelled, cutting him off. Looking straight into the condemned man's eyes, he said "They're gonna kill you in three days!"

"Nonsense!" Zolo cried, his voice strained. "That bastard promised me that if I could survive this for a month, he'd free me…"

"You believe that worm would keep a promise? Even after he locked you up for no reason?" Mac's voice cut into him, a hard glare set straight into the eyes of a man who hoped what they were saying wasn't true. "Luffy punched him just for you because he found out that you were just some toy."

Zolo stared at her, his mind reeling with the revelations. "Wh… What did you just say?"

"The Navy will never let you off!" Koby said softly, applying pressure to his shoulder. Looking up at Zolo, he begged. "Please! After I set you free, please help Luffy and Mac! I will not force you to become a pirate, however, they've helped me out! Luffy is very strong and Mac is fast! As long as you three join forces, you all will definitely be able to escape this town! Definitely!"

"Preen my feathers a little more, Pinky. The minute something happens, I'm outta—" She didn't get a chance to finish. Mac jumped almost five feet back when a bullet whizzed right past her nose, the whole off Marine base surrounding them.

"That's enough!" They shouted, rifles trained on the three of them. "The four of you who have betrayed Lieutenant Morgan die here!" Mac instantly crouched, sweat starting to form on her forehead.

"Shit! I can't take all of these guys!" She hissed, one fist clenched tight while the other hovered out to her side, right over her left pocket in her normal fighting stance.

"Surround the base! Don't let the guy with the straw hat escape!" Someone shouted. Mac visibly deflated, her eyes widened in horror at the large man that waltzed right through the Marines towards them. "How interesting…" He spoke, the gleam on his large axe glinting as if it were begging to chop their group. "The four of you are planning to cause political upheaval?"

It was none other than Captain Axe-Hand Morgan; feared Marine lieutenant of the East Blue and it was not just because of his rank. As his name implied, he had an axe for a right hand, one large enough to cut down giant trees in one swipe and it was rumored that it could cut steel. He was a very tall man, towering over every Marine, and he was very tan with light blond hair in a crew cut. He wore a sleeveless captain's coat with shoulder guards over a button up vest, pants with a tiger shark striped pattern just like the base itself had and huge lace-up boots. The steel jaw he had only added to his intimidating appearance.

"Roronoa Zolo…" He spoke, his eyes scanning the four until they came to a stop on the man in question. "I've heard of your name from a long time ago, but do not underestimate me. Before my great strength, you're just garbage! READY!"

The sound of rifles cocking echoed around the circle of Marines, Mac visibly tensing as she fought the urge to bolt from the scene. Her mind was abuzz with activity, memories surfacing. Old memories that she never wanted to bring up again, memories that could possible send her over the edge. It was a losing battle as she stared down the barrel of a rifle aimed straight at her head.

_/ A young girl with long purple hair, part of it tied off to the side in a short braid over her temple, cowered underneath a table. The sound of gunfire and screams echoed all around her, outside and somewhere inside the small building she sought cover in. Tears burned in her eyes, tiny hands clasped at the sides of her head to drown out the noise. She didn't want to be here! She didn't want to believe it was happening! She wanted to go back to yesterday, or a week before, where everything was how it was supposed to be. She prayed, hoped, and sobbed, anything to wake herself up from this horrible nightmare!_

_"Mac-ami!" Her eyes shot open, peeking out from under her cover, red and bloodshot auburn orbs searching for the owner of the familiar voice but widening when a gun was shoved right between her eyes. Form shaking, she followed up the outstretched arm to the face of someone she never wanted to see again. The man smirked, sharp teeth glinting menacingly as he searched the face of the frightened girl._

_"Well, well. Seems here we found the second one." He chuckled, voice smooth and taunting. A sharp scream pierced the air, Mac's eyes snapping to look behind the man to see another person dragging someone out the door. Instantly, she shot out, making attempt to save the person she loved so dearly. Someone that she sworn by herself to forever protect, her other half._

_Before she could even get past the man, his boot met her face, tossing her back into the golden tapestry that hung all around the room. She cried as she fell, the curtains following on top of her and filling her entire vision with gold fabric. The man pursued her, boots heavy against the hollow wooden floor as he calmly approached the fallen girl. Fighting through the material, she just managed to free herself only to find the gun once again point blank at her face. The man chuckled darkly, watching the girl through dark glasses. Pulling the hammer back on the gun, he took one last look into her frightened eyes. "Let this be a lesson to your father." The gun went off with a loud pop and then, nothing. /_

"Mac! MAC! This is no time for daydreaming!" Said girl slowly came back to her senses, Koby shaking her roughly as he tried desperately to wake up the only person that could protect him and Zolo. Her eyes, glistening as they slowly moved down to look at the boy, her mind running to catch up to her. By the time she remembered where she was, it was too late.

"FIRE!" Several things happened at once; Mac shielded her face, Koby screamed and hid behind Mac, Zolo struggled against his binds as all three of them awaited to be riddled with bullets. But… Something odd happened… The bullets never hit them. Opening her eyes, Mac gasped. She couldn't believe who she saw.

Luffy appeared right in front of them, three swords tied to his back and his arms stretched out, his body becoming a shield and blocking the one coming bullets.

"YOU!" Zolo shouted.

"LUFFY!" Koby cried.

"WHAT!" Mac questioned.

"The straw hat boy…" Morgan growled.

What Morgan and the Marines didn't notice, was that Luffy's skin stretched behind him. The stretched so far, almost making contact with the three behind him. Through all the confusion, Luffy began laughing, snapping straight up and flinging the bullets right back to the Marines. "It's no use!" The boy laughed, the Marines scrambling to get out of the way in time.

Laughing heartily, Luffy turned to look at the three behind him. "Hey Mac!" The girl just stared at him in a stupor. Behind her, Koby collapsed on the floor, his mouth foaming from what most likely a combination of dumbfoundness and relief…. That or his poor heart finally gave out on him.

"What kind of human are you?" Zolo shouted, trying to figure out what just happened.

Luffy smirked, "I am the one who will become the Pirate King!" Luffy then pulled the swords off his back, holding them out to Zolo and smiling. "Look, which one is your treasured katana? I couldn't figure it out, so I brought all three of them."

"All three belong to me." Zolo stated seriously. "Because I use three katanas."

Luffy nodded, looking out towards the mass of Marines. Most of them were knocked out by the bullets but there were still plenty more left standing. "Resisting the Navy here with me will make you an outlaw." The boy warned. "Or maybe you want to die?"

"Are you the offspring of the devil?" Zolo smirked, tilting his head down and causing his bandana to create a menacing shadow over his eyes. "Forget it. Rather than die here, why don't I just accede to your request and become a pirate!"


	5. Battle for Marine Base and Farewells

"Yes! I have a companion!" Luffy cheered, throwing his fists in the air.

"Okay, now hurry and get these ropes off me!" Zolo demanded, annoyed that the boy just dropped his swords like they were nothing. From afar, the Marines gaped in shock at the boy.

"That guy! How the...!"

"How did he manage to repel those bullets?"

"That rascal isn't normal..." Morgan mused, his eyes dead set on Luffy. "He must have eaten one of the Devil's Fruit!"

"He ate the ocean's secret treasure?" A Marine gasped.

"Then, his special ability is due to this fruit?" Another asked, piecing things together. Then, one of them noticed something.

"Lieutenant, that guy's gonna take off Zolo's ropes! Don't let him take them off!"

Someone unsheathed a sword, charging the group. "If guns don't work, then we'll use swords to kill him!" The rest soon followed, all charging with battles cries, swords poised to strike.

Meanwhile, Luffy struggled to untie the knots. "Damn! This knot is so hard to untie... Hmm, how do I open this?" He wondered as if there wasn't a bunch of Marines about to chop his head off.

"Oi! Hurry up!" Zolo cried, freaking out. Mac watched the whole scene, her mind numb and her body frozen in place, barely registering what was going on around her. She was still shaken up by her flashback, one of the many she had hoped to keep buried within the deepest recesses of her mind. Behind her, she faintly heard Koby begin to stir.

"Ugh... Ah, did I faint? What did..." He then noticed the charging Marines and how close they were getting. He screamed, "LUFFY, ZOLO, WATCH OUT!"

Luffy ignored him. "Could you stop taking my time? You're so noisy!" The boy huffed, tugging at the ropes.

"We don't have time for you to take you time!" Zolo yelled, ready to bite the idiot's head off.

"Oh! I untied one side!" Luffy proclaimed cheerfully, holding up the rope in triumph.

"IDIOT!" Zolo shouted, using his now free arm to grab at Luffy. "Hurry! Get me my swords!" The Marines were closing in, swinging their swords wildly above their heads. Behind them, Morgan shouted,

"All who oppose me must perish!"

Koby squealed, shaking roughly. He noticed how Mac stood there like a doofus, staring blankly at the men. "MAC! ZOLO AND LUFFY ARE ABOUT TO DIE! DO SOMETHING!"

"... Huh?" Mac grunted oh so intellectually. She jerked from her stupor, her eyes focusing and snapping over towards Zolo and Luffy. Her eyes widened, seeing the men closing in on the two. She knew if they got hurt, she'd end up just as dead as them. Jerking herself down in a fighting stance, she didn't even have enough time to get into action before the Marines were upon them like flies on honey. It was like everything stopped, Mac staring at the scene with shock and awe, Koby next to her not without a dissimilar expression.

Zolo stood there, crouching with his back to the Marines and his arms crossed with a sword and each hand, holding every single one back but that wasn't the most shocking thing. His third sword was clenched between his teeth! Wow, it was a wonder how strong his jaw was.

"All of you better not move!" Zolo spoke darkly, his speech somehow perfectly clear around the sword handle in his mouth. "You move and I'll kill you!"

"Waa! How scary!" The Marines cried amongst themselves, tears streaming down their face. Mac relaxed, sighing to herself. All this sudden tensing up and relaxing crap if going to take a toll on her psyche, she just knew it.

"I already told you I'd be a pirate with you." Zolo directed to Luffy who just casually stood there like there wasn't a bunch of dumbstruck Marines that could easily sober up and overpower Zolo. "Either way, after this incident with the Marines, I'll be an outlaw too. But it's okay, I still have my own goals! I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman! I no longer care if my name is clean or not. Bad guy, good guy, it no longer matters! As long as my name is known worldwide!" He set Luffy with the hardest, most determined glare, looking him straight in the eye. "If you do something that ends up in the way of my goal, I will have you cut your stomach open to say sorry!" Ooh, brutal.

"Good!" Luffy grinned. Did this boy have any other facial expression? "To be the world's number one swordsman! Since you wanna be a pirate king's crew member, if you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be very embarrassed as well!" If that's what Luffy considered small, Mac would hate to see what he considered to be big…

"Heh! Well said!" Zolo smirked. Hearing the sound of someone clearing their throat, they looked over to see Mac slowly clapping her hands together in mock applause.

"This is all very well and good you guys." She said, her eyes going from each of them to the Marines and ever Morgan who stood behind them. "But can we save the awe-inspiring speeches for AFTER we take care of these nimrods?"

Just as she finished, Morgan seemed to have had enough. "What are you guys standing there for? Hurry up and finish them off!"

"Hey Zolo, duck!" Luffy called. Zolo just had enough time to glance at him before he fell to the ground in time to dodge Luffy's attack.

"Gum-Gum Leg Sweeper!" His entire leg stretched out and pushed the whole group of Marines back in one fell swoop. They flew back, landing at the feet of their Captain.

"Super! Very cool!" Koby praised.

"What are you…?" Zolo asked Luffy, looking at him in disbelief.

"I'm a rubber man!" Luffy declared, his leg snapping back to him and smiling.

"Ru… Rubber man?" The Marines gasped, pain etched in their faces as they struggled to sit up one by one. Mac couldn't help raise a brow; didn't they see how he was unaffected by the bullets earlier?

"Lieutenant! We can't kill these two! They're too strong! Any… Anyways, we can't defeat Zolo…"

"This is an order…" Morgan began, his voice low. "Whoever just said that… Get a gun and kill yourself! I don't need useless soldiers." There was a collective amount of gasps amongst the troop, staring at Morgan in shock, hoping he wasn't serious.

"That's an order!" Morgan growled and what was the most shocking part, is that they did exactly as he said. Each Marine took their gun and pointed it straight at their head, fingers on the trigger as they tried to work up the courage to pull the trigger.

"That's just wrong." Mac said, furrowing her brows. Suddenly, Luffy was taking off at full speed towards Morgan, surprising him when Luffy flew at him with his fist clenched.

"I'm the Marine's worst enemy! If you have the guts then execute me!" The boy threw a punch, intending it to connect with the horrible Lieutenant but his fist only connected with the handle of the axe that made up Morgan's arm.

"Luffy! Defeat these Marines!" Koby cheered, Mac and Zolo watching silently.

Morgan pushed Luffy back, the boy landing steadily on his feet a short ways away. "People like you, without status, have no right to oppose me!" Morgan charged at Luffy with incredible speed for a man so big, raising his axe-arm to strike the Luffy down. "I am Marine Lieutenant Axe-Hand Morgan!"

"My name is Luffy! Nice to meet you!" The boy introduced mockingly. Morgan swung his axe with great speed, shouting "GO TO HELL!" Luffy easily jumped out his reach in time for the blow to miss and cut a chainlink fence behind him.

"Wah! The fence broke into half just like that!" Koby gasped, watching as the piece fell to the ground.

"That's the power of a Marine Lieutenant. Take note, Koby." Mac said, her eyes never leaving the swift rubber boy. She had to admit, she was beginning to really admire his great speed and strength. Luffy just started to descend on a confused Morgan, his feet making heavy contact with the man's head and sending him sprawling to the ground. Luffy easily landed on his feet like a cat, watching as Morgan skidded several yards across the ground.

"The Lieutenant! He…" There was muttering amongst the Marines as they watched the man stop.

"You little bastard!" Morgan cursed, righting himself before Luffy was upon him again. The man deftly swung his axe, "Go to Hell!" and just barely missed Luffy by a couple of inches as the boy twisted right past him. Morgan was more confused when the rubber boy grabbed his arm, swinging himself up and around.

"I'm not dead yet!" He taunted just before his foot made contact with Morgan's head and sending the man to the ground once more.

"Too… Too strong…" Koby gasped again.

"Lieutenant Morgan can only be kicked around!" The Marines muttered amongst themselves, watching as their superior was treated as little more than a punching bag. Luffy landed, approaching the defeated Lieutenant and grabbing the front of his shirt. "Some great Marine you are…" The boy spoke almost too soft for them to hear. "Destroyed Koby's dreams and goal…" He pulled back a fist, readying to punch Morgan's lights out.

"WAIT!" Someone shouted, but Luffy only went ahead and gave Morgan a hard right hook to his cheek.

"You idiot! I told you to wait!" Almost everyone turned to the voice, Mac and Zolo looking over their shoulders to where the voice was coming from. What they saw, well, Mac was more curious how he got there without her noticing. Helmeppo stood there, a gun pulled out and aimed right for Koby's head! "If you want this guy to survive, then don't move!" He yelled, "If anyone moves, I'll shoot!"

"Luffy! I… I don't wanna be in your way…" Koby called out, not even a smidgen of fear on his face. "I'm not afraid of death!"

"Okay, I know!" Luffy just grinned before he began to pull his hand back in a fist and shouting to Helmeppo. "You stupid son, Koby's not afraid of death!"

"Hey! You idiot, I told you not to move, or I'm gonna shoot!" Helmeppo shouted. Mac snorted to herself, doubting the guy even knew how to use a gun.

"Go ahead and shoot!" Luffy yelled back. That's when Mac noticed something, a large looming man with an axe for an arm standing silently above him with his weapon poised to strike. "Luffy! Watch out!" She yelled at the oblivious boy.

"I am the great Marine Lieutenant!"

"Gum-Gum…"

"Daddy! Hurry!"

"PISTOL!" Luffy's fist flew, stretching clear across the courtyard and sucker punching Helmeppo into the concrete fence behind him. That took care of one problem but there was still another one, and it was about to try and cut Luffy's head off.

Before he even knew what hit him, Morgan was back on the ground with a loud thud, confusion breaking out amongst the masses once more. "Woah… Mac!" Luffy declared, seeing the much short girl standing next to Morgan, the palm of her left hand steaming. There was a large burn mark on Morgan's stomach that gave off the same trail of smoke. Flexing her fist, she turned to look over at the staw hat boy. "I was itching to do that for a while."

From behind them, they could hear the whole gaggle of Marines as they stared in fear at their downed superior. "The Lieutenant lost! Lieutenant Morgan has been beaten." Zolo slowly approached the two, looking as though it was taking all his strength to walk, and placed his swords at his hip.

"If you still want to arrest us, come and get us." He said in a voice that said 'I dare you'. The Marines all glanced at themselves as if contemplating that offer before something somewhat unexpected but completely understandable happened. Every Marine began to cheer happily, dancing and hugging eachother joyously. Mac had to side-step a sword that someone had thrown into the air out of joy.

"Yes! We're free! We are out of Morgan's control! Long live the Marines!"

"What's going on?" Luffy asked, looking around very confused. "They seem to be happy that Morgan was defeated!"

"Everyone hated Morgan…" Koby said elatedly, running to join up with the three. Mac observed the cheering crowd, unable to stop herself from smiling at their contagious merriment. It felt weird to be happy for something she hated so much, but in a sort of good weird way.

But then any feelings of joy she had were completely lost when she found a much taller, much smellier man collapsing on top of her, pushing her to the ground and knocking the wind completely out of her. "Z-Zolo! Get off me, you fatass! For the love of the Ancients, you reek!" She shouted, trying to push the dead weight off her back.

"Hungry…" The man groaned, fatigue taking him over and completely draining his nutrient starved body. Luffy laughed at the squirming girl, Koby being the only helpful one and struggling to lift and sling Zolo's arm over his shoulders.

"Come on, I know a place where we can all get something to eat." He said, Luffy finally helping to carry the man's weight while Mac cursed him under her breathe and followed right behind them.

* * *

"I'm full!" Zolo declared loudly, leaning back in his chair and patting his full belly. "Haven't eaten for nine days, almost starved to death!" Finally having managed to drag the man out of the courtyard, Koby and all converged around a table in the bar Rika's mother owned. Koby and Zolo all bandaged up, Rika's mother commenting on the shoddy work of the bandage Mac had put around Koby's shoulder earlier. Dishes piled high on the table as each person ate away at their own choice meal, Luffy sitting next to Zolo and Mac next to Luffy with Koby on her other side. Zolo had actually taken off his bandana to reveal short green hair and currently had it tied around his left bicep.

"Then it's impossible for you to last a month!" Luffy said around a chunk of meat in his mouth. Zolo rested his elbow on the table, setting the boy with a hard stare.

"You're so scrawny, how come you can eat more than me?"

"Sorry… Even I ate quite a lot…" Koby directed towards Rika's mother as the woman came to take away some of the piling dishes.

"Don't worry! Keep eating, you saved our town!" The woman smiled brightly. Rika approached Luffy, a large grin set on her face.

"Big Brother, you're so strong!" She praised.

"Yep! I'm strong! I'll get strong later on!" Luffy said, chunks of food flying out of his mouth.

"Luffy, don't talk with your mouth full. No one needs a food shower." Mac reprimanded as she bit into her thirtieth apple. The boy looked at her, sticking his lip out in a pout as he went on to chew his large mouthful. Honestly, the boy looked like a squirrel or something.

"So, what are your next plans?" Mac thought Zolo was speaking to Luffy but when she looked over, she found the man was looking at her. Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged her shoulders as she sat back comfortably in her chair, crossing her arms behind her head.

"I dunno." She said thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling. "Probably stow away on a sailing ship or something. Why do you care?"

"What are you talking about, Zolo?" Luffy piped up, looking at the older man. "She's coming with us, she's part of my crew."

Mac almost fell out of her chair, catching herself in time to fling herself forward and grip the table as she stared in horror at the boy. "What!" She shouted, the boy unnerved by her loud voice. "Since when!"

"Since I decided back in the fight with Morgan!" Luffy answered, crossing his arms over his chest as if he was daring to her to refuse. And she did just that.

"No way! I got my own stuff to do and it doesn't involve playing pirate." The girl shouted, glaring hard at the boy. Luffy met it head on, neither one of them backing down from their staring match. Zolo and Koby watched the two with interest.

"I'll drag you to the Grand Line if I have to!" Luffy finally said, determination filling his voice. That's when Koby decided to intervene.

"Wait, what?" The boy cried. "You're saying crazy things again! Just you three—"

"Two!" Mac quickly corrected, trying to get herself out of this.

"Fine! Two! How can you enter the Grand Line? Don't you understand? The world's strongest pirates all gather there!" The boy shouted, reverting back to his old antics from when he first heard of Luffy's wild dream.

"We're going for One Piece. It won't hurt to head that direction!" Zolo said, not expecting it when the hysterical Koby got all up in his face.

"Zolo! Even you're saying this rubbish!"

"What are you so worried about, it's not like you are coming with us." He sweatdropped.

"Even though I'm not going, I will still worry. Can't I? Can't I worry about you guys!" Koby yelled, slamming his hands on the table to emphasize his point. "Luffy, even though we just met… But we are friends!"

"Yep!" Luffy grinned, "Even though we have to part, we'll always be friends!" Koby smiled back, tears welling in his eyes.

"I never had friends growing up… Every time I would be picked on, no one would ever stand up for me… But the two of you taught me to live by my dream!"

"That's why we're heading for the Grand Line." Luffy stated obviously.

"Yeah!" Zolo input, resting his arm on the back of his chair.

"I'm not…" Mac muttered under her breath, glancing towards the door of the tavern.

"Hmm… That's true…" Koby said but soon realized his mistake. "No! No! What I meant is, you're too reckless!"

"First of all, you'd better worry about yourself!" Zolo said, tapping the boy's forehead with the handle of his sword. "Huh? Why?" Koby asked, confused.

"Even though you were just doing chores on a pirate ship, you're still a small pirate." The man reasoned, resting his sword on his shoulder. "Don't underestimate the Marine's ability to gather information. If they know your past, they won't let you join for sure!"

"Excuse me!" Speak of the devils. The door to the tavern was pushed open, revealing a bunch of Marines. One stood in the door way, tucking his arms behind his back as he eyed the four at the table. "We are wondering, are you really pirates?"

"Yes, I just found my first two crew members!" Luffy grinned, much to Mac's chagrin. "So that would make us pirates now!"

The Marine nodded, adjusting his hat. "Even though you are pirates, in reality, you saved our town and base. For that, we are grateful but, since you are pirates, as Marines, we cannot allow you to stay any longer. Please leave this place immediately! As for the events that occurred here, we will be reporting it to the headquarters."

From outside, there was a loud uproar as the citizens protested the Marine's decision. "Hey! Marines! What kind of bullshit are you saying?"

"Are you kidding me? Or have you all gone nuts? They are this towns saviors!"

Luffy was unfazed, pushing himself up from the table. "Hmm, well then, let's go! Thank you for your food ma'am." He said to Rika's mother as the woman sadly watched them leave. "C'mon, Mac." Luffy commanded, noticing how the girl just sat there.

"Fine, whatever you say, 'Captain'." She replied mockingly, following Zolo as he walked past the Marine and out the door.

"Luffy…" Koby muttered as he walked past.

"Are you really leaving, Big Brother?" Rika asked quietly, sadness lacing her voice.

"Aren't you with their group?" The Marine asked, looking at Koby. The boy shifted, looking at the Marine.

"I…. I…." His voice was strained as he tried convincing himself that this was really happening. That they were really leaving. "I'm not… Not… I'm not with them!" He finally got out.

"Please hold on…" The Marine said, stopping Luffy in the doorway, Mac and Zolo already waiting outside. "Is he telling the truth?" Luffy turned, staring at Koby for a moment. Finally, he pointed a finger at the boy.

"I know what this guy used to do…" He said, Koby's eyes widening in horror.

"Luffy….?"

"I can't remember where but," Luffy went on, "He used to be with this faaaaaat female pirate. I think her name was Alvida."

"Stop… Don't say anymore…" Koby begged, praying for Luffy to shut his big rubber mouth.

"It was a fat and ugly female pirate. This guy spent two years there-"

"SHUT UP!" Before Luffy could get anymore out, Koby sprang forward and delivered a powerful punch to Luffy's face. One strong enough that it caused his hat to fly off his head. There was a collective amount of gasps from the Marines and even Koby as he tried to fathom what he just did. A heavy smirk was set of Luffy's face, the boy springing back to deliver a punch right back at Koby.

"You! You deserve a beating!" He carried on punching poor Koby, viciously attacking him with his fists. "Damn you! You deserve a beatdown!"

"Both of you stop it!" The Marine cried, "I won't allow this town to get in any more fights!"

Deciding to get going before there was any more trouble, Zolo grabbed Luffy by the back of his vest, pulling the boy off an unconscious Koby. "Hey! You went overboard! Stop it!"

"I know he isn't you friend!" The Marine shouted, pointing at the two. "Please leave this town immediately!"

Luffy picked up his hat, placing it on his head before he and Zolo departed from the building, heading towards the docks. "Come on! Didn't you want to arrest me?" Zolo taunted a couple of Marines outside of tavern, smirking as they shied away from him. When they made it to Luffy's little sailing boat, Zolo turned to Luffy.

"Nice act! This way, even though he's been a pirate before, it wouldn't be such a big deal!"

"I believe Koby will become strong and more dependent in the future!" Luffy smiled, grabbing the ropes that tied his ship to the wharf.

"Time to go, or else these no telling what will happen! Not leaving anything behind, that's what pirates are all about!" Zolo sighed, satisfied as he placed a hand on his swords.

"That's what I'm saying!" Luffy laughed.

"Lu… Lu…" Luffy turned, seeing Koby standing behind him, looking bruised and beaten. "Luffy!" He called, saluting the Marine's salute. "Thank you very much!" He cried, "I will never forget you for the rest of my life!"

"I've never seen a Marine salute pirates." Zolo commented. Next to him, Luffy chuckled heartily, raising an arm and waving it at Koby

"Koby! We'll meet again someday!" The boy called.

"Group salute!" Koby was shocked, the entire Marine base appearing behind him as they saluted the two men. Laughing as the boat sailed away, Luffy noticed something missing, or rather, someone.

"Euh! Where's Mac!"

"See ya later, shitlords!" The boy frowned at the familiar voice, looked back to see the girl standing off to the side of the Marines, smirking as she pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck her tongue out at them. Snickering, she turned and began making her way past the buildings, only to have her way blocked by a bunch of Marines.

"What? Hey, move it! I'm not with those creeps."

"Sorry, but from the looks of it, you are." They smirked, looking behind her. Cocking her head, she didn't even have enough time to look before there was a heavy weight on the back of her shirt and she was sailing through the air, past the docks and over the ocean and landing heavily in a pile of limbs.

"Ow…" She groaned, scowling when she heard the familiar laughing of Luffy and Zolo's snickering. She sat up, glaring at the boy who had plucked her from land and sat with a triumphant grin on his face.

"I told you that'd I'd drag you with me. GRAND LINE, HERE WE COME!"

And so they set off for new adventure, Luffy now with a total crew of two; Roronoa Zolo the swordsman and Mac the very reluctant girl. As they sailed off, none of them realized that there was something very crucial that they forgot to pick up in the hurry to get out of Marine Base Town.


End file.
